Tim Thomerson Bio
Joseph Timothy Thomerson was born April 8, 1946 in Coronado, California and is an American actor and comedian known for his work in both mainstream and low-budget genre films and for a long career in stand-up comedy. Thomerson is widely identified with the role of Jack Deth in the Trancers film series and has appeared in films including Uncommon Valor, Air America, Volunteers, Who’s Harry Crumb?, Iron Eagle and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Early Life and Background
Joseph Timothy Thomerson was raised in both Hawaii and San Diego after his birth in Coronado, California. He served in the Army National Guard where he worked as a cook in a tank company; that period included service alongside actor Brion James, a fellow Guard member.
After leaving military service and completing college, Thomerson took work behind the scenes at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre as a set builder and prop man, an early exposure to professional theatre production that helped shape his interest in performance. He moved into stand-up comedy in the 1970s, developing material and stagecraft at prominent clubs across the United States.
Path to Celebrity
Thomerson built his profile through sustained work on the stand-up circuit, performing at venues such as The Bitter End in Greenwich Village, Catch a Rising Star in New York City, and major Los Angeles rooms including The Improv and The Comedy Store. Those appearances led to television variety bookings and caught the attention of filmmakers who were looking for comic talent with a strong stage presence.
An early transition from stand-up to scripted work came when director Robert Altman saw Thomerson’s act and cast him in the film A Wedding, giving Thomerson one of his first notable screen opportunities. That casting and regular television work established a pathway from live comedy into recurring television and film roles.
Tim Thomerson Career
Early Career (1975–1984)
Thomerson’s professional career began in the mid-1970s, with work that blended comedy and character acting across television and film. He moved into feature films in the late 1970s and early 1980s, appearing in roles such as the criminal psychologist Jerry Moriarity in the slasher film Fade to Black (1980) and in the Vietnam-themed action drama Uncommon Valor (1983).
During these years Thomerson established himself as a reliable character performer who could handle both comic and dramatic material, continuing to appear on television while maintaining a presence on the stand-up circuit. His steady work in diverse projects set the stage for a higher-profile leading part that would follow in the mid-1980s.
Breakthrough (1985–1991)
Thomerson’s career-defining moment arrived with the 1985 low-budget science-fiction film Trancers, in which he played the time-traveling future cop Jack Deth, a performance that became his signature role and the basis for a multi-film series. The success of Trancers led to sequels and ongoing association with science-fiction and cult-genre filmmaking, and the character Jack Deth became closely identified with Thomerson’s screen persona.
Following Trancers, Thomerson continued to balance genre work and mainstream studio pictures, appearing in titles such as Volunteers (1985) and Iron Eagle (1986), and taking parts in films that ranged from action to comedy. In the late 1980s and early 1990s he worked on projects produced by independent genre companies, including roles in Dollman (1991) as Brick Bardo and further appearances in related Full Moon Features releases.
Notable Works and Milestones
Across his career Thomerson repeatedly returned to the Jack Deth role in Trancers sequels and maintained a steady presence in both larger studio films and cult genre pictures, with notable appearances in Uncommon Valor, Air America, Who’s Harry Crumb?, Near Dark, Cherry 2000 and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. His combination of comic timing and an ability to anchor modest-budget action and science-fiction films became a defining professional trait.
Tim Thomerson Family
Thomerson is married to Teri Blythe, a fact recorded in public biographical summaries and in industry references. There are no additional publicly verified family details in the supplied records beyond the listing of his spouse.
Personal Life
Public records and verified biographical sources list Joseph Timothy Thomerson’s birth date as April 8, 1946 and his nationality as the United States. He is known professionally as Tim Thomerson and has been active in entertainment since 1975, working across stand-up comedy, television and feature films.